Ripple Effect
by denise1
Summary: For every action there is a reaction, eventually


Dedicated to Beth, David and their firstborn son, Alexander.

The Ripple Effect

By

Denise

Sam trudged behind Jack, hunching her shoulders under her poncho in a vain attempt to keep dry. This was definitely one of those good news/bad news missions, like so many of their missions had been lately.

The UAV had shown the presence of naquadah. It'd also shown the presence of an indigenous people. The Nasra had no use for the metal, which was good. But the Nasra didn't control the lands where the naquadah was located, the Kresla did. This meant that any treaty had to be negotiated with both tribes, neither of which was too fond of the other.

The Nasra had been easy to deal with. They were more than happy to trade passage through their lands for medical supplies and food. The Kresla had driven a harder bargain, wanting textile materials and control over how much naquadah was taken from their lands.

In the end, Jack and Sam had reached an agreement with the ruling body of the Kresla, although the negotiations had taken far longer than they'd anticipated. Which was why they were making their way back to the gate in the dark and in a driving rain storm that would normally have had them seeking shelter and waiting for better weather.

"Carter, remind me the next time the locals tell us it's going to rain, to listen to them," Jack said, glancing over his shoulder at her.

"Yes, sir," she muttered, rolling her eyes. Spara had tried to tell them that they needed to stay the night, that it wasn't safe to travel at night, and that it was going to rain. So had she, the gathering clouds and the occasional tale of large predatory cats that she'd overheard making her more than a little wary of traveling on foot at night.

But the colonel hadn't been comfortable with being split up for so long, especially since they were out of radio contact with Jonas and Teal'c, so he made their excuses and they left the village.

"Did you notice any sort of shelter on the way here?" he asked.

"Colonel?"

"It's not letting up. And these batteries are dying. I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood to break a leg on this hill."

"Jonas and Teal'c are expecting us back," she reminded him of his reason for leaving the perfectly comfortable hut in the village they'd been offered.

"Teal'c's smart enough to know we'll go to ground. He won't worry til about noon," Jack said.

Sam nodded her head, agreeing with him. She'd think the same thing if she were in Teal'c's place. "I can't remember if I saw any shelter," she said.

"Keep your eyes peeled," he ordered. "I'm too damned old to sleep in the rain."

She chuckled slightly and followed him as he started to make his way back down the path.

They'd traveled just a few yards when a keening wail cut through the monotonous patter of rain. Both of them raised their weapons, instinctively moving closer together. "What the hell?" Jack whispered.

"Sounds like a person," Sam answered.

He nodded, indicating a direction and they made their way forward, straining to see anything in the wet darkness. "Hold it," she heard Jack order and she spun, ready to cover him. She saw him instead lower his weapon. "It's ok," he said. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Sir?"

"One of the villagers," he explained.

She moved to kneel at his side. There was a woman huddled at the base of a tree, the woven cloak she was wearing doing little to shield her from the weather. "Are you ok?" Sam asked, looking around for any companions. "Is anyone with you?"

She shook her head. "No," she answered.

"What are you doing out here?" Jack asked.

"You are the strangers," she said, moving her hand to shield her eyes from their flashlights.

"Yeah," Jack answered. "You're one of the Nasra?"

She nodded. "Yes. I am Bethan." She held out her hand, seeking aid in getting to her feet.

"Bethan, what are you doing out here?" Sam asked, moving back and standing up. She and Jack helped the woman gain her feet, the reason for her immobility becoming apparent. "Whoa," Sam said, shooting Jack a quick glance.

"I did not expect the storm to come up quite so quickly. I was trying to get to the cave for the night. However, I find it difficult to climb," she said, resting her hands on her bulging stomach.

"There's a cave up there?" Jack asked.

"Yes."

"How far up?"

"Colonel?"

"She won't make it back and neither will we. Might as well get out of the rain," he explained. "If we help, can you make it up there?"

Bethan nodded. "Yes."

Jack nodded and Sam moved to Bethan's other side, each taking an arm to help her climb. They slowly made their way up the steep hill, occasionally slipping in the mud. They soon reached the cave, its opening partially obscured by small bushes. Jack entered first; shining his flashlight around to make sure it was empty before urging Sam and Bethan to follow. "It's not perfect, but it's dry," he said. "All the amenities of home," he quipped, pointing out a pile of fire wood in the corner.

"Men from the village try to keep it stocked," Bethan said as Sam helped her lower herself to the floor of the cave.

"You come here often?" Jack asked.

"It is a….favorite spot amongst younger members of the village," she answered.

Jack met Sam's eyes, a knowing look on his face. A local trysting spot seemed to be yet another galactic constant. "Why don't you start us a fire, Major," Jack said, taking off his poncho. Sam nodded, moving to set up a small fire in a provided pit. The cave was about fifteen feet tall and the opening wide enough to allow any smoke to escape. "MRE's aren't the best food in the world, but you're welcome to share," Jack invited, taking off his pack.

"I fear I will have little time to eat," Bethan said, shedding her wet cloak and adjusting her position to make herself more comfortable.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. She looked up at him, raising her hand to push her wet hair out of her eyes. She laid her hand on her stomach. "You're not," Jack said.

"Sir?" Sam asked, looking up from her fire. Bethan gasped and hunched over, her arms wrapped around her middle. "You don't mean…"

"Looks like we're having a baby, Major," Jack said shooting Sam a glance. "Have you had any other kids?" Jack asked the woman.

Bethan shook her head. "This is my first. There is a midwife in the village. I was trying to get to her when the pain grew too strong."

Jack nodded and reached for his radio. "Jonas, Teal'c?"

"The rocks could be interfering," Sam said when there was no reply.

Jack got to his feet and walked to the opening of the "Still nothing," he replied, walking back. "How far do you think we are from the village?"

"About five, six miles," Sam said.

Jack looked at his watch. "That means I should be able to make it there and back in about 3-4 hours," he said.

"Excuse me?" Sam asked, shooting a glance at Bethan.

"I'll go, get this midwife and some help and come back."

"You said it yourself, sir. It's too dangerous to keep traveling," Sam reminded.

"That was before the little mother showed up."

"Then we can all go…"

"Carter, I'm not dragging a pregnant woman across the country side."

"Then let me go, sir. I can bring back help and…"

Jack shook his head. "You're the medic, you stay. I'll go get help."

"Medic, yes. Obstetrician, no. Look, sir. You…you've had experience with babies. I'll go get this midwife and…"

"Carter. What's the problem? You've done this before."

"No. I haven't."

"Yes, on Argos. You and Daniel…"

"All I did was hold her hand and be supportive. Daniel did all the …important stuff," she said.

"Look, Sara was in labor for eighteen hours, a fact she reminded me of more than once.  I should be back long before the big event," Jack said. "Anyway, you do know what to do, right?"

Sam looked away, then back. "In theory. I read the book and took the class but…I've never done it."

"You'll be fine," Jack soothed. "The one thing about having a baby is that it's 'hurry up and wait'. I'll be back in a few hours and we'll probably still be stuck here for several more until it happens." He picked up his poncho and pulled it over his head. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Yes, sir," Sam muttered, clearly unhappy with events. She watched him walk out into the darkness, and then she turned back to Bethan, trying to keep her unease off her face.

This was childbirth, not astrophysics. How hard could it be?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three hours later, Sam looked at her watch, her frustration growing. Where the hell was he? If she didn't know any better, she'd swear he was taking his time just to annoy her.

"You worry for your friend," Bethan said, startling Sam a bit.

Sam shook her head. "No. He should be back any time now," she said, giving the woman an appraising look. She had gotten up a couple of times and walked around the perimeter of the cave, refusing Sam's help as she shuffled along. "How are you doing?" Sam asked. Even to her inexperienced eyes, she could see the contractions getting closer and closer together, their pattern becoming regular and strong.

"He shall come with the dawn," Bethan said, panting a bit with a contraction. "You are not comfortable with this," she said.

"No. I'm not," Sam admitted.

"Do you not like children?"

"I like them fine. I'm just not much good with them. I'm better at…blowing things up," she said, wincing at how that sounded.

"I find that hard to believe. You do not look like a destroyer."

"Looks can be deceiving," Sam said ironically. She looked down at her hands, her mind's eye painting in all the blood she knew stained her skin. Her hands were more suited to death than life lately. She literally couldn't count the number of Jaffa she'd killed. How many orphans had she made? How many widows? It had been easy in the beginning, before she got to know Teal'c or Bra'tac. Before then, they were almost like figures in a video game, soul less creatures that were easy to kill. But now she knew that each one of them were simply soldiers, people just like her, with families waiting for them at home. Families that would mourn their deaths, friends that would promise vengeance. For the last six years, her life had been little more than violence and death, and somehow, deep inside, that's how she knew it would end.

"You do not have children?" Bethan asked, drawing Sam from her contemplation.

Sam shook her head. "No. I don't."

"Among my people it is odd for a woman of your age not to have a family."

"It's different for us," Sam said. "My job doesn't mesh well with a family. It's dangerous," she continued at the woman's puzzled look. "It wouldn't be fair for me to have a child then run the risk of orphaning it," she said, knowing in her heart that she was just making excuses. Dying was only part of her fear. What right did she have to bring a child into her world. Were murderers entitled to have children? Was that fair? To have her own child while she'd deprived so many children of their fathers?

Bethan nodded. "But, surely your mate…"

Sam shook her head. "I don't have a mate." Who would want her anyway? A half-alien harbinger of death. A woman who'd destroyed far more than she'd ever created.

"But your companion?"

"We're just teammates…we work together, that's all." Bethan smiled, then hunched over, crying out as her arms wrapped around her stomach. "Bethan?" Sam said, hurrying forward.

"I was wrong," she gasped out. "He will be here before the dawn," she said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam knelt in between Bethan's legs desperately hoping that the colonel would show up with the midwife. The woman's contractions were almost constant now and Sam knew the baby would be born any minute now. She didn't want to be here, didn't want to be doing this. She didn't know what she was doing, what if she made a mistake? She'd kill both of them. Yes, women had been giving birth  for millennia, they'd also been dying in childbirth just as long. It was easy, but it was also damned difficult. "Bethan…" she started, fighting to quell the panic. This was silly. She could fix a teltac, blow up a star, take on a legion of Jaffa…she was damned good at destroying stuff, she had no idea how to bring a new life into the world.

"It will be all right," the woman gasped.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Sam said.

"Do whatever you have to to save my child. That is what matters."

"Bethan…"

"Dava is his father. Make sure he gets back to him," she said, her words ending on a scream as she bore down.

Sam stared as she saw the head appear, then she pushed her fear aside and leaned in. "Ok, ok, I see the head. Push," she said. Bethan pushed again, grabbing her legs for leverage. "He's almost here. Push." Bethan leaned back and slumped, breathing heavily. Another contraction hit and she leaned forward, her eyes screwing shut as she pushed, her moan turning into a scream  as the head popped out. The rest of the body followed quickly and Sam struggled not to lose her grip on the slippery baby.

She wiped its face off with a bit of gauze from her first aid kit, struggling to get a good look in the flickering firelight. "He's not crying," Bethan gasped. "Why isn't he crying?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack led the small party up the hillside, grateful that it had at least stopped raining. He had to admit, he was more than a little anxious. In hindsight, a part of him regretted leaving Carter behind with Bethan. Yeah, she was the medic in the unit, but she also had no experience with delivering a baby. Maybe he should have stayed behind. At least he had dealt with a newborn before, where he didn't think she had.

He knew she had a niece and nephew, but he also knew she'd never spent time with them until they were bigger. She seemed to do ok with kids, but babies were something totally different.

They reached the mouth of the cave and he pushed his doubts aside. It had taken them longer than he'd expected, the midwife having to finish another delivery before she could come with them. It still hadn't taken longer than a few hours. There was still a good chance that Bethan was still in labor.

The interior of the cave was dim, the fire low. Jack frowned and turned on his flash light, hearing Teal'c doing the same. By his reckoning, there'd been enough wood in the cave to last at least a day, maybe more. The fire shouldn't have burned out yet. "Carter?" Jack called softly, not wanting to startle her.

Getting no response, he motioned for Teal'c to fan out and Jonas to keep the other villagers back. They slowly made their way into the cave, their flashlights playing over two figures sitting by each other. Sam was sitting on the ground, her pack beside her. She wasn't wearing her jacket and he frowned as the light revealed dark stains on her hands.

Bethan, or what he assumed to be Bethan, was lying on the ground, a silvery blanket covering her.

Jack frowned and looked at Teal'c who shrugged slightly. The Jaffa played his light around the cave, revealing no other threat. Fighting the feeling that something had gone horribly wrong, Jack knelt at Sam's side, shaking her slightly. As he studied her closer, he could see the faint tracks of tears on her cheeks and he cursed silently. He shouldn't have left her alone. Maybe if they'd both been there…"Carter?" he said, shaking her harder.

She stirred, frowning a bit before she opened her eyes. "Colonel?" she asked sleepily. "You're back."

"Yeah. You ok?"

She nodded and yawned, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. "Teal'c?" she said, looking past him. "Wow, what time is it?"

"It's morning. We had to wait for the midwife to get finished with another delivery before we could come," Jack said. "What happened?" he asked, glancing at the pile of blood stained gauze and rags in the corner of the cave.

"Bethan!" A young man hurried forward, pushing his way past Jonas.

"I'm sorry, colonel. He wouldn't wait," the Kelownan apologized.

"Bethan!" Dava threw himself to his knees beside his wife, his hands reaching out to pull back the blanket.

Jack reached out to forestall his actions, then stopped short as the woman stirred, slowly opening her eyes. "Dava," she said, reaching out to her husband. Jack was pleasantly confused, honestly thinking that the woman had died.

"When they told me that you were here I could not believe it," Dava said. "Why did you leave the village?"

"I had something I had to do," Bethan said, slowly sitting up.

Dava looked at her, studying her closely as the blanket fell away, revealing only the form of his wife. "The child?" he asked.

Bethan looked to Sam, who reached down and picked up what Jack had dismissed as just her jacket. "I'm sorry, Dava," Sam said. "We sort of ran out of blankets." She looked to Bethan, who nodded. Sam pulled back the edged of the jacket, revealing a small, red face. "Say hello to your son," she said.

His hands shaking, Dava struggled not to drop the baby burrowed in the heavy folds of the jacket. "My son?"

Bethan nodded. "I named him Alexi, after your father," she said, reaching out to touch the baby.

"It appears you were successful, Major Carter," Teal'c said, craning his neck to see the child.

"Piece of cake," Sam quipped, ignoring the skeptical look on Jack's face.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam knelt by the stream, dipping her hands into the water for the fifth time. She muttered under her breath then shifted her weight back, cursing her short fingernails. She'd been at this for nearly half an hour, and still couldn't get it right.

"Carter?" She turned, surprised to see Jack standing behind her. "You ok?" he asked, squatting beside her.

"Fine, sir," she answered, again sticking her hands into the water.

"Really? Cause, you know, you don't normally just let folks sneak up on your six, especially since I've been calling your name for the last five minutes."

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm just tired," she excused, awkwardly trying to dry her hands on her pants.

"What happened last night?" he asked.

"Sir?"

"Something, I don't know, I have this feeling that something more happened last night than you've told us," he said.

She looked down, frowning at the stains around her fingernails. By the time Bethan had delivered, it'd stopped raining so they'd only had the water in Sam's canteen, just enough to wash off the baby and clean Bethan up. Not quite enough left to do more than wash the worst of the blood off Sam's hands. Blood that had crept into the area around her fingernails and stained them a rusty brown.

She'd been trying for the last half-hour to remove those stains without much success. "I…" she opened her mouth, the words getting caught in her throat. "He was dead," she whispered.

"What?"

"He was blue and so limp. He wouldn't cry. He was like a little rag doll and…"

Jack reached out and touched her arm, making her look up at him. "What happened?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. He was dead and I remember trying to make him breathe and it wasn't working. I thought I'd killed him."

_Unacknowledged tears streaming down her face as she laid the tiny little figure in her jacket, unwilling to lay it on the cold hard ground. The pain cutting through her chest as she realized that she'd failed. One simple thing, one easy job and she couldn't do it right. Her lack of knowledge, her lack of skill had cost the baby its life. Just like before, in another cave, on another planet, she'd been too stupid to think of an alternative and nearly gotten the colonel killed._

_She looked up, meeting Bethan's devastated eyes. "Sorry," she whispered, flinching at the banality of the word._

_"No." The woman shook her head in denial._

_Sam picked up her jacket, cradling it in her hands. So tiny, so innocent. It wasn't fair. He never even had a chance. Impulsively, she raised him to her face, pressing her lips to his tiny forehead. She felt at tiny puff of air against her cheek and her heart lurched._

_Straining her eyes in the dim light, she thought she saw his miniscule lips move._

_She lurched to her feet, ignoring Bethan's startled cry. Moving closer to the fire, she brought the baby up to her face, this time laying her ear on his little chest. She felt the weak thump of his heart and nearly screamed in joy._

_Barely remembering the procedure, she carefully put her mouth over his, gently blowing air into his little lungs. Remembering that she had to be careful, she fought to tamp down her excitement. After a minute she heard him give a weak cry and she pulled her head back, praying that the pink tinge to his skin had nothing to do with the ruddy light of the fire._

_She carried the child back over to his mother and they both cried, each in awe of the miracle they'd just witnessed_.

"And then he was alive," she said. "He was dead, he should be dead but…"

"So you saved him," Jack said.

She shook her head. "How do I know I didn't screw something up? He didn't survive because of me, he survived in spite of me." She got to her feet, reaching down to pick up her pack. "We should probably get back."

"In a minute." He reached out and grabbed her arm, making her turn around. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, pasting a smile on her face. "Just tired."

He frowned. "You never used to lie to me. What's wrong?" he asked softly, the tone of his voice urging her to open up.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Do you ever get tired of destroying things?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't remember the last time I actually made, created something. All I've done the last few years has been to kill or destroy. I don't know if I remember how to do anything else anymore."

"You remember those two kids we ran into in '69? Michael and aah…"

"Jenny," Sam supplied.

"That's it, Jenny. I was going to tell him when he went to New York, to keep going north, to get his ass up to Canada."

"I remember."

"You stopped me."

"I remember that too."

"When we got backed, I looked him up. He didn't go to Canada. He went over there, and lost a leg and was shipped home. But not before he and his team took out an anti-aircraft battery that was knocking our birds out of the sky. The same battery that was harassing the hell out of a couple of lieutenants we know."

Sam shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Ask your dad sometime about a VC anti-aircraft battery that was annoying the hell out of him and his buddies."

"Whoa, my dad?" Sam asked, struggling to make sense of what he was saying.

"Jacob and George lost half of their group to that battery. And if Michael had stayed home or went to Canada, they probably would have lost the rest."

"So you're saying…"

"I'm saying that sometimes what we do sucks, WHEN we're doing it. But in the long run, where it counts, we're doing the right thing."

She smiled slightly and looked down, the blood on her hands no longer an accusation but an affirmation. Even if she had messed something up, done something wrong, it had still turned out all right in the end. "I guess so," she said.

"You ready to go home, Miss Prissy?" he quipped, reaching out to take her gear for her.

"Payback is a bitch," she said, letting him take the equipment.

"Is that a threat, Major?" he teased.

She ignored him, leading the way back to the village. There was about fifty gallons of hot water back at the SGC with her name on it. And at least a half gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

As she got closer, she saw Teal'c and Jonas waiting by the gate, surrounded by a few of the villagers. "I see you found her, O'Neill," Teal'c said.

"Ya think?" Jack quipped. "You kids ready to bail?"

"In a moment, O'Neill."

"Bethan wanted to talk to Sam before she left," Jonas explained.

"Is everything ok?" Sam asked.

"Everything is fine." She heard. She turned to see Bethan walking towards her, Dava at her side. "I just wanted to see you before you left." She held out her hand. "I wanted to give you this."

Sam took the item from her, opening her palm to reveal a large purple crystal. "It's beautiful."

"There is a legend that as long as you carry a petra crystal, you will have good fortune. That is what I was seeking last night when the baby came."

"Bethan, I can't take this. You got it for Alexi," Sam protested.

She shook her head. "It already brought me my luck. It saved my son's life." She reached out and closed Sam's hand over the crystal. "It is your luck now." She looked past Sam to the rest of SG-1. "Although with friends like yours, you may not have need of it."

"There's no such thing as too much luck," Sam said. "Thank you."

Bethan nodded and stepped back. Sam turned back to her team, the crystal clutched firmly in her grasp. "You ready?" Jack asked, handing her her gear.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Jonas, dial it up," he ordered. "You got any plans when we get back?"

"Sorta. You do know that General Hammond said I could get Jonas a DVD player and of course a library to go along with it."

"He did?"

She nodded. "Teal'c's already got all the Star Wars. Which Rogers and Hammerstein musicals would you like to hear over and over and over again. Jonas has a lovely voice and you pair him up with Teal'c's baritone…the showers at the SGC will never be the same again," she said, walking away from him, a grin splitting her face at the prospect of the duets the two aliens could sing. "I think even the Marines would love the show…"

"Carter," Jack warned, following her up the small flight of steps leading to the gate.

"Payback's a bitch, Rhett," she quipped in her best southern drawl, shooting him a mischievous grin as the crossed the event horizon.

Fin


End file.
